Edward dayton



No. 6|6,732 Patented Dec. 27, I898. E. D'. ROCKWELL.

BICYCLE BELL.

. (Application filed Oct. 8, 1896.

(No Model.)

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45 form of my improved bell.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD DAYTON ROCKIVELL, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE BRISTOL BELL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BICYCLE-BELL.

$PECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 616,732, dated December 27, 1898.

Application filed October 8, 1898. Serial No. 693,003. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD DAYTON RooK- WELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bicycle- Bells, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,whereby any one skilled in the art can make and use the same.

re The object of my invention is to provide a bicycle-bell of the class operated by a thumblever or push device which projects beyond the periphery of the hell or its base, with means whereby this thumb-piece may be lo- I 5 cated in any desired position with reference to the axis of the handle-bar. In bells as usually constructed prior to my invention the base-piece or bell as a whole has been rigidly secured to the clamp and the. thumbeo piece has had a fixed position with reference to the clamp, so that the angle at which the thumb-lever or push device is located with reference to the axis or line of the handle-bar has been constant and unchangeable.

2 5 The handle-bars of bicycles are made of various styles and have direct and also reversed curves and bends, so that it is difficult to secure the ordinary bicycledoell of the old art to a handle-bar at all times with the thumb- 0 piece in the proper accessible position to be conveniently operated by the rider of the wheel while maintaining a hold of the grip or han dle-bar.

To this end my invention consists in the com- 3 5 bination of a clamp and bell-support thereon with means for holding the bell with a yielding frictional grasp on its support on the clamp; and it further consists in details of the several parts making up the device and the combination of such parts, as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in cross-section through the preferred Fig. 2 is a detail top or plan view-of the base-plate of the bell withthe bell-striker and part of the operating mechanism removed. Fig. 3 is a top or plan view of the bell in place on a handle-bar, 5o illustrating in dotted lines the position to which the thumb-lever may be turned after the bell has been clamped to the handle-bar.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter ct denotes a clamp of convenient form for attaching a bell to a handle-bar of a bicycle; b, the base-plate of the bell; c, the gong, and cl the thumb-piece, which projects beyond the periphery of the bell.

In the preferred form of my improvement as shown and described a center post e is riv- 6o eted to the clamp-plate a, the end of the post being of irregular outline in cross-section and fitting and extending through a hole in the clamp-plate a. The base-plate b ismounted on this central post and is free to rotate thereon except as held against rotation by the clamp device f, which is also mounted on the central post in such manner as to hold the baseplate with a yielding frictional grasp between the clamp-plate and thefriction- 7o disk. The center post 6 is preferably shouldered, asshown at e in the sectional View in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and the clamp device f is preferably a concave disk of steel or other spring metal located 011 the center post below the shoulder. The opening through the disk is preferably of irregular outline and so fitted to the center post as to be held against rotation thereon. The result of this construction of parts is that the base-plate is held between the friction-disk and the bellclamp with a yielding frictional grasp sufficient to hold the base-plate against accidental rotary movement, but to permit it to be rotated upon the central postwhen a considerable force is applied. This rotary movement of the base-plate is what enables the thumb-piece of the bell-sounding mechanism to be moved into and located in the position desired for the most convenient operation of the bell after it has been clamped to the bandle-bar or bicycle-frame. The bell-sounding devices form no part of my improvement and for that reason are not shown or described in this connection except as to the thumb piece,

which projects beyond the edge of the bell and is by means of my improvement located wherever it may be desired to turn the bell after it has been secured in place by means of the clamp. 10o

The base-plate or bell member which supports the thumb-piece is held 'With sufficient force to prevent it from moving in the ordinary operation of the bell by pressure applied to the thumb-piece, and it is obvious that various forms of yielding friction or clamping devices may be employed in place of the one shown Without departing from or avoiding the main feature of my invention, Which is not limited to the special yielding frictional clamp described, but contemplates the use of various forms of devices which have the desired eifeet and result in permitting the adjustment of the support for the thumb-piece independently of the clamp.

I claim as my invention- 1. I11 a bell, in combination, a clamp, abase rotarily movable with respect to the clamp, a clamping device for holding the base with a yielding frictional grasp against rotation with respect to the clamp, and a gong.

2. In a bell, in combination, a clamp, abase rotarily movable with respect to the clamp, a thumb-lever mounted on the base, means for holding the base with a yielding frictional grasp against rotation with respect to the clamp, and a gong.

3. In combinationin a bell, a clamp, a post secured to the clamp, a base rotarily mounted with respect to the clamp, means for hold ing the base with a yielding frictional grasp against rotation, and a gong.

4. In a bell, in combination, a clamp, a post mounted on the clamp, a base rotarily mou nted with respect to the clamp, means for holding the base with a yielding frictional grasp against rotationwitli respect to the clamp,and a gong.

In a bell, in combination, aclamp, a post mounted on the clamp, a base rotarily mounted with respect to the clamp, a frictional clamp surrounding the post, means for holding the clamp with a yielding pressure against the base, and a gong.

6. In a bell, in combination, a clamp, a post mounted on the clamp, and having a shoulder, a base rotarily movable With respect to the base-clamping, a clamp device thrusting against the shoulder 011 the post and against the base, and a gong.

7. In a bell, in combination, a clamp device, a post mounted on the clamp, a base rotarily movable with respect to the clamp, a friction-disk mounted on the post and thrusting against a shoulder thereon and against the base, and a gong.

EDWARD DAYTON ROCK YElIl h \Vitnesses:

WILLIAM II. BARKER, ARTHUR B. JENKINS. 

